This week on the GROBigRed Blog we are celebrating National Library Lover’s Month and the books that we love to use. I want to share two of my go-to books and a new addition that I am excited to have this year. Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains (ISBN 978-1-60938-071-7) by…

Pollinator decline has been a huge buzz word the last few years and rightly so. With so much focus on the use of pesticides, viruses, mites and whatnot – leaves us feeling helpless. Welcome to the Nebraska Extension Pollinator Habitat Certification. You spoke and we listened. If you want to be a part of the…

As the chlorophyll fades, the other pigments in the leaves that can’t readily be seen while the chlorophyll is in place, become apparent. Most people don’t realize that the pigment colors that you see in the leaves are the same that you see in flowers and in the food that we eat.

The yellows and golds of autumn bring brightness and warmth to the landscape. Sitting beneath my ash trees in the fall, the air is awash with a golden glow as the trees appear to be lit from within. It’s truly magical. Sometimes I think we’re so fixated on the reds of autumn we fail to…

Do the thoughts of a home winter without tasting or eating fresh produce from the garden have you feeling blue? Or don’t have outdoor space to grow even the smallest garden? As we slip out of summer and fall into autumn, there are some things you can do to to keep the growing going year round.

Welcome to the most exciting week of the year: National Indoor Plant Week! We often don’t take into consideration the quality of the air we breathe inside our homes. However, often times the air quality is not what we think it is. Homes have become more airtight in the quest to improve energy efficiency. Home…

Peonies are one of the longest lived herbaceous perennials. Some anecdotal evidence reports upwards of 80+ years. How did your peonies do this year? Did they flower okay for you or have they started to fizzle in their performance. Working with clients I have found two major sources for poor peony performance. 1. planted to…

“Is this a weed or a flower?” – one of the most commonly asked questions I get here at the Extension Office. I always answer: is it growing where it supposed to? If not, then it is a weed. A coneflower growing in a bluegrass lawn is a weed and bluegrass growing in a coneflower…

Now is the time to plant your fall vegetable crops. Seeds of lettuce, spinach, carrots, peas, beets, kale, and radishes are some of the options. With daytime temperatures in the 80’s, however, it can be tough keeping the seeds evenly moist so they can germinate. A simple and low-cost way to remedy this is with…